This beautiful blue-and-white prestige porcelain vessel dates from the Ming Dynasty, yet also bears the classic markers of the Islamic Empire. This duality is explained by the important trade that flourished between these two groups during the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, and the diplomatic exercises that allowed the networks to develop in the first instance. The vessel is designed in an intriguing and pleasing set of styles. The main form is globular, with a defined band at the neck to a long, tapering spout. The base is slightly everted. The design is floral, with light and dark blue flowers all endlessly linked by stalks and foliate tracery. It proceeds across the vessel and only halts at the base of the neck and at the white-rimmed base. The porcelain is very high glaze, and the surface is flawless. The mouth of the vessel is partially covered by a socketed fixture and a very ornate scrollwork-design silver cap resembling an Islamic dome, surmounted by a slender spire.It is ambiguous in terms of cultural assignation, if one analyses it as a whole. The appearance is essentially that of a minaret, yet the painting is clearly Chinese in origin. The metal mount is Islamic in appearance. The lack of representationalist figurative design is indicative of Islamic trends, but there again this trait is not necessarily unique and there are myriad painting forms within the Chinese repertoire. It is also possible that the piece was made by an Islamic potter under the influence of early Ming pieces; the Iznik potters of Turkey are known to have done this in the late 16th century. However when one considers the nature of contemporary naval trade and relations, and also the fact that the silverware seems to be an add-on (partly obscuring the cameo design on the neck), it would seem very likely that this was a prestige piece made for the Islamic (probably Turkish) market, which was then adapted upon arrival.The Ming Dynasty, which ruled China between the mid 14th and mid 17th centuries AD, is widely believed to be one of the most definitive and important in China’s long history. It is also remarkable for the fact that it was the last indigenous (Han) dynasty before the country fell into the hands of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and also because it was led by one of only three peasants ever to rise to Chinese imperial pre-eminence. Hong Wu, the leader of the peasant revolt, founded the dynasty on the destruction of the Yuan Mongol Empire. His background and the manner in which he seized power made him almost pathologically cautious and even paranoid. In addition to accelerating agricultural production, he increased the standing army to over one million, imposed what approximated to martial law on his people and spent a fortune building defences, notably the Great Wall of China. He also founded the Forbidden City, from which he governed China’s burgeoning population of around 200 million. Because of economic spin-offs of his agricultural policy (which provided major surpluses) untold wealth started to appear, and with it a new elite of merchant families who went on to constitute China’s first Middle Class.Arts and sciences flourished in the Ming Dynasty. Painters proliferated, and were very well-paid for their works. Advances were also made in wood/ivory carving, jade-working, lacquerwork, and duotone (blue-white) ceramic design and decoration. The most prestigious pieces were presented as diplomatic gifts to Europe, Japan and SE Asia; lesser works flooded the market as trade goods, giving rise to a global obsession with chinoiserie. The major production centers for porcelain items in the Ming Dynasty were Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province and Dehua in Fujian province. The Dehua porcelain factories catered to European tastes by creating Chinese export porcelain by the 16th century, often painting designs direct from bookplates, paintings or other illustrations, in order to appeal to a wider European audience. The best items remained prestige and diplomatic goods, however, as is the case with the current piece. Just as the Ming potters reformatted their wares for the European market, so they changed them for other parts of the world. Figurative designs may have been banned under Islamic law, but it would seem from other sources that floral patterning was less frowned upon.This is a socially-important and historically significant piece of porcelain and silver. The preservation and colouring are perfect. This is an extremely fine piece.- (SK.041)

Antiquities
Ancient Asian